North East Cambridgeshire candidates views on housing

There is a huge amount of pressure to build homes, but their location, i.e. on flood risk zones, and water scarcity, are also big issues.  

What’s the right balance? We put this to the candidates – and the majority have shared their views below.  

Find out more about the candidates here and what they also had to say about the Wisbech incinerator, cost-of-living crisis, the NHS and education.  

Election day is Thursday (July 4). 

Steve Barclay. Conservative.  

Steve Barclay is the Conservative candidate for North East Cambridgeshire. (Image: Steve Barclay) No response was received for this issue. 

David Chalmers. Liberal Democrat.  

David Chalmers is the Liberal Democrat candidate for North East Cambridgeshire. (Image: Supplied by David Chalmers) Liberal Democrats know that a home is a necessity and the base on which people build their lives. We believe that everyone has the right to a safe and decent home which meets their needs. 

Year on year, government house building targets are missed and the chronic shortage of affordable and social housing has left thousands of people homeless. 

Liberal Democrats would tackle the failures in housing head on by:-

• Building 150,000 social homes a year, with new garden cities and community-led development of existing cities and towns. 
• Banning no-fault evictions immediately, make three-year tenancies the default. 
• Ending rough sleeping and homelessness within the next Parliament and scrap the Vagrancy Act. 

We would make homes warmer and cheaper to heat with:-

• A ten-year emergency upgrade programme, starting with free insulation for people on low incomes.  
• The expansion of incentives for households to install solar panels and heat pumps. 

 We would give local communities a greater say by:- 

• Funding local planning departments properly to improve planning outcomes and ensure housing is not built in areas of high flood risk.  
• Encouraging development of existing brownfield sites. 
• Ensuring all development is built with appropriate infrastructure, services and amenities and access to water.  

Andrew Crawford. Green Party.  

Andrew Crawford is the candidate for the Green Party. (Image: Andrew Crawford) "We need to build state-funded social-housing which can be offered to renters for the long term and at affordable rents, built in the locations where they are needed.  

"This should be a priority over industrial development. This would free-up housing currently let by private landlords.  

"North East Cambridgeshire really does not need more privately owned housing estates which brings more people to the area, who then commute elsewhere for work. 

Javeria Hussain. Labour.  

Javeria Hussain is the parliamentary candidate for the Labour Party this upcoming general election. (Image: North East Cambridgeshire Labour) "A Labour government will end homelessness and end no fault evictions from the private rental sector.   

“We will end leasehold and replace with commonhold ownership.  We will build 1.5m new homes over the next five years.   

“They will be high quality, sustainable, environmentally designed, social and affordable homes built where they are needed in a planned way with infrastructure built alongside in new towns, brown and grey field sites and local people getting first dibs with a mortgage guarantee scheme for those that don't have a large deposit.   

“In Fenland the Chatteris Reservoir will help provide water security while at the same time offering both employment and leisure facilities." 

David Patrick. Independent.  

David Patrick is standing as an Independent candidate in North East Cambridgeshire. (Image: David Patrick) “We need to encourage the building of affordable housing.  

“Land needs to be purchased specifically to do this, these houses would be rented giving an income to build more houses this in turn creates jobs that will benefit the economy. 

“Private rental prices are excessively high due to the excessive amount of people chasing properties to rent.  

“Private house builders are not playing their part using viability as an excuse not to provide affordable housing on estates they are building. A loophole introduced again by a Conservative government.  

“It should be made a statutory requirement to ensure developers play their part. 

“Infrastructure problems are normally conditions taken into consideration by the local authority upon planning applications.” 

Clayton Payne. Workers Party of Britain.  

Clayton Payne is The Worker's Party candidate for North East Cambridgeshire. (Image: Clayton Payne)

• Development Priorities: I recognize the pressure to build new homes, but it is crucial to address concerns about flood risks and water scarcity. 
• Sustainable Development: Developers should prioritize building homes in locations that are not prone to flooding and that have adequate water resources. I propose strict regulations and incentives for sustainable building practices. 
• Affordable Housing: I will ensure that a significant portion of new housing developments includes affordable housing options to meet the needs of all income levels, tied to earnings not to market values. 
• Community Involvement: Local communities should have a say in where and how new homes are built. I advocate for more participatory planning processes to ensure that developments meet the needs of residents and protect the environment. 

Chris Thornhill. Reform UK. 

Christopher Thornhill is standing for the Reform party. (Image: Christopher Thornhill) The whole housing strategy needs overhauling, and developments and supporting services (water, electricity, transport, etc.) need to go hand-in-hand, along with locational considerations for flooding.

Reform UK will ensure that people can own their own home by unleashing housebuilding across the country and cutting immigration. 

• Review the Planning System. Fast-track planning and tax incentives for development of brownfield sites. ‘Loose fit planning’ policy for large residential developments with preapproved guidelines and developer requirements. 
• Reform Social Housing Law. Prioritise local people and those who have paid into the system. Foreign nationals must go to the back of the queue. Not the front. Scrap section 24 for Landlords The tax system should encourage smaller landlords into the rental markets. Not penalise them. We will restore landlords’ rights to deduct finance costs and mortgage interest from tax on rental income. 
• Abolish the Renters’ (Reform) Bill. Existing legislation was inadequate to address bad practices. Instead, we will boost the monitoring, appeals and enforcement process for renters with grievances. 
• Protection for Leaseholders. All potential charges for leasehold or freehold residents must be clearly stated and consented to. Enforce Section 106 agreements. Ensure it is cheaper and easier to extend leases to 990 years and buy freeholds. 
• Incentivise Use of New Construction Technology. We will incentivise innovation to speed up building: modular construction, digital technology and building sites that improve efficiency and cut waste. It would seem to me common sense that developers build better efficient homes i.e. look at the materials used, ensuring all homes have a south facing roof on which solar panels are fitted (as standard), hence reducing the need for solar panel farms.